Washington (CNN) -- President Obama will sign into law Thursday the Improper Payment Elimination Act -- an effort designed to slim down wasteful government programs and curb fraud in federal spending.
"The fact is, Washington is a place where tax dollars are often treated like Monopoly money, bartered and traded, divvied up among lobbyists and special interests," Obama said in March when he announced the initiative. "And it has been a place where waste -- even billions of dollars in waste -- is accepted as the price of doing business."
The act will use something known as payments recapture audits, which will pay auditors financial incentives to find improper payments. The White House said it could save $2 billion in taxpayer money over the next three years.
The new law also will toughen up rules for federal agencies, which will be required to report improper payments on a regular basis and elaborate on their efforts to avoid similar waste in the future.
"Well, I don't accept business as usual," the president said in March. "And the American people don't accept it either, especially when one of the most pressing challenges we face is reining in long-term deficits which threaten to leave our children a mountain of debt."
The Senate passed the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act by unanimous consent June 23. The House passed it July 14.
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